Skanda Purana — Nagara Khanda, Shloka 31

Devanagari script

यद्रात्रित्रितयेनैव वटा शोकभवेन च । फलं संजायते तच्च जंबुना द्विजभोजनात्

Transliteration

yadrātritritayenaiva vaṭā śokabhavena ca | phalaṃ saṃjāyate tacca jaṃbunā dvijabhojanāt

Translation

മൂന്നു രാത്രികളുടെ അനുഷ്ഠാനത്താലും ശോകജന്യമായ വടവ്രതത്താലും ലഭിക്കുന്ന ഫലം, ജംബൂവൃക്ഷത്തെ ഉദ്ദേശിച്ച് ദ്വിജന്മാരെ ഭോജനിപ്പിച്ചാലും അതേ ഫലമായി ലഭിക്കുന്നു।

Word by Word

• यत्: that (which)
• यत्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (correlative 'that which')

• रात्रि-त्रितयेन: by (a) three-night period
• रात्रि-त्रितयेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि (प्रातिपदिक) + त्रितय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (रात्रिणां त्रितयम्)

• एव: only/indeed
• एव: Sambandha (Particle/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधारण (emphatic particle)

• वटात्: from the banyan (tree)
• वटात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वट (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन

• शोक-भवेन: by sorrow-born (means/condition)
• शोक-भवेन: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोक (प्रातिपदिक) + भव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (शोकात् भवः/उत्पत्तिः)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय (conjunction)

• फलम्: fruit/result
• फलम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• संजायते: arises/is produced
• संजायते: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√जन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (वर्तमान), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन, आत्मनेपद

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta (Apposition/कर्ता-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन (correlative)

• च: and
• च: Sambandha (Conjunction/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; समुच्चय

• जंबुना: by/with jambu (tree/fruit)
• जंबुना: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जंबु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया (करण), एकवचन

• द्विज-भोजनात्: from feeding Brahmins
• द्विज-भोजनात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विज (प्रातिपदिक) + भोजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (अपादान), एकवचन; तत्पुरुष-समास (द्विजानां भोजनम्)

Speaker

Skanda (deduced from Nāgara-khaṇḍa Tīrthamāhātmya narration style)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Jambū-vṛkṣa (as sacred focus)

Type: kund

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A sacred Jambū tree is honored with water, flowers, and lamps; nearby brāhmaṇas are fed, while a symbolic panel shows ‘three nights’ observance and a banyan rite as parallel merits.

Characters & Entities

• Jambū (tree)
• Vaṭa (banyan)
• Dvija (twice-born)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Charitable hospitality—especially feeding brāhmaṇas—can equal the merit of difficult austerities when done in a tīrtha-oriented devotional frame.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The chapter praises a tīrtha practice centered on the Jambū tree; the precise geographic tīrtha is not specified in this isolated verse.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Feed the twice-born (dvija-bhojana) in connection with Jambū-related worship to obtain great spiritual fruit.